


The Protector

by BirdBirdBirdBird



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, Lack of Communication, Magnus Burnsides Angst, Magnus Burnsides deserves better, Magnus just wants to protect his pals :(, Minor Magnus Burnsides/Taako, Platonic Taagnus, The Protector Magnus, bless this mess, didnt tag it bc it can be seen as romantic or platonic, platonic Tres Horny Boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23152927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdBirdBirdBird/pseuds/BirdBirdBirdBird
Summary: Magnus stays up every night on guard. Taako wants his himbo to sleep. Merle is bad with emotions but tries.
Relationships: Magnus Burnsides & Merle Highchurch & Taako, Magnus Burnsides & Taako
Comments: 7
Kudos: 68





	The Protector

**Author's Note:**

> GOOD MORNING ITS 11:22 PM AND I WROTE THIS IN A MATTER OF THREE NIGHTS I THINK no beta we die like men AND AS I WRITE THIS RN I JUST GOT TO EPISODE 2 OF THE SUFFERING GAME LMAO so if I'm wrong as shit on anything, you know why
> 
> also taako has that bracelet that let's him communicate telepathically, I dont really know if that let's him read minds, but he does that for PLOT 
> 
> Okay please read enjoy!!! tw for sadness n shit

The moon was up a little ways before it peaked in the sky, full and white and bright. Magnus could see every single star illuminated in the sky. The ledge he sat on was faintly illuminated by the crackling fire that warmed his comrades as they slept. 

They were on a mission, Lucretia sending the group off to acquire information and special pages from a far off town to feed the Voidfish. Magnus had agreed to keep watch first, something he often did whether it was the whole group or just Merle and Taako. Killian had said she'd take the second shift, but Magnus never woke anyone else. He had to protect them all, that was his job, not Killian's. 

Magnus picked up his switchblade and the little piece of wood he had acquired from a forest they'd passed through. It had no real shape yet, but Magnus was fooling around and trying to give it form. He gave thought of making it look like a dog, or the Voidfish, or maybe Steven, but nothing stuck. 

Magnus glared at the wood, holding the blade flat against the grain, prepping to make a cut, but... nothing. No inspiration, no will, no nothing. Magnus groaned and sat the wood aside, burying his face in his hands. "Come on, Burnsides. Dont get distracted. Dont get distracted or everyone you have ever loved will die." He grumbled to himself.

Magnus didnt need to double check to tell exactly how his group was asleep by the fire: Carey was curled up tightly with her head against Killian's chest, tucked up under her chin, Merle was back to back with Taako, who, while he couldnt really sleep, was resting and switching between meditating and laying down with closed eyes. Taako could definitely sleep if he tried hard enough. Angus was neatly and pleasantly tucked against the wall with his hands as a pillow, hat still on, uniform somehow unwrinkled. 

Magnus huffed a little laugh at the fact that he knew exactly what was what. He had to keep it that way, stay tall and strong to make sure his friends got to stay asleep and not have to stay awake all night in fear. Magnus had to keep them safe, he was the strong one, he was the rock, he was the protector-

"Magno?" A sleepy voice popped up from by the fire. Magnus jumped and turned, spotting Taako, hair tussled, ears folded back, looking at him. "What are you still doing up?" 

Magnus laughed nervously. He had never been caught before, normally everyone just slept straight through the night. If anybody ever asked why Magnus never woke up them up, he just used the excuse of them being injured, sick, etc. "I, ah, thought I heard something?"

Taako reached for the Umberstaff. "Is somebody out there?" 

Magnus shook his head quickly. "Nonononono," he whispered. "Its fine, it's alright, go back to- uh... rest...ing." 

Taako puzzledly looked from Magnus to Killian, to Magnus again. 

_Dont get up, dont get up, dont get up, dont get up-_

Taako got up.

_SHIT!_

Taako navigated around Merle's sleeping form, careful not to bump Angus when he sat his umbrella back down, gliding over to sit next to Magnus. "What are you doing up?" He repeated.

Magnus moved his woodcraft to the opposite side, rubbing his neck with a thick hand. "I told you, I-" 

"Okay, you heard a noise, but that doesnt explain why Killian is asleep." Taako said pointedly. "I dont think Killian is one to slack off, so if you'd like to give me a real answer, I'd appreciate it, Jackass." 

Magnus huffed. "Alright, fuck you too." He looked over the woods that they sat above. The thick, green pines were bright with the summer night, a massive river could be faintly heard from where they were. It was tranquility.

Taako followed Magnus' gaze. "Did you just... _forget_?"

Magnus didnt shoot back a snarky answer. Nothing got past Taako. Not even worth it to try. "No." He said plainly. It was the truth. Just the teeny tiny version of it. 

Taako pulled his gaze away from the landscape and tried to pull in Magnus' gaze. "And?" He pressed. "Magnus, you're being fucking weird." 

"I'm not being defensive!" Magnus argued, voice rising a little. He quickly hushed himself. "Im... _not_! Being. Defensive."

Taako folded his arms across his chest. "I said weird, buddy boy."

Magnus groaned. "Taako, you need to go rest. We have no clue what tomorrow is gonna bring." He braced his hand down on the dirt, fingers digging in the dirt. "Go and rest."

Taako narrowed his eyes at the fighter. "Okay, so how about I take this shift? Hm? You go take a rest." 

" _No_." Magnus said firmly, straightening up. "No. I'm staying right here, and you're going to go by Merle and-"

"You dont tell me what to do, my dude." Taako spit back coolly. 

Magnus stopped, words filling his mouth and threatening to fall out in a gross yelling match, but he sighs. He wouldnt win. "Taako... I just can't. Okay?" A sudden gust of the summer night breeze sent a quick chill down his spine, making him shudder. 

Taako frowned. "Mags, you're too cold out here," he began unhooking the robe he had around his body, ready to throw it over Magnus' shoulders.

"I got it," A new voice added. The sudden weight of a blanket sat around his shoulders. Merle sat down on Magnus' other side, eyes groggy with sleep but overall looking awake. "Magnus, how come yer up?"

Magnus didnt want to be rude and throw off the wool blanket but _jesus_ it was warm. That breeze didnt last long. "Good fuck, Merle. I'm awake because I'm on guard tonight." 

Merle raised one brow at Magnus, then shit Taako a look. Taako shrugged, he wont give me an answer either. "You guard every night." 

Magnus nodded. "Yes. Thank you for noticing. Considering you're both still alive, I think I'm doing a good job." 

Merle chuckled, low and earthy, warm. "I dont know, you _did_ cut my arm off."

Magnus bit his tongue. "Don't remind me..." he felt his bare arm brush the bark of Merle's arm. A shudder rolled through him, but he snuffed it so Merle didnt add another blanket. "Im... I'm so sorry, Merle. I wasn't thinking, I just wanted to save you." 

"Hey, hey," Merle frowned, placing a hand on Magnus' arm. "I'm just tuggin' yer leg, pal! You did save me... what are you so upset for, bud?" 

Magnus looked ahead. There was the forest again, ever growing and never changing. The moon was slowly creeping in the sky, the light bathing all three men. Magnus picked up his knife and the wood and began to carve. "I don't know." 

Taako looked across at Merle, eyes wide in emphasis. _What the fuck is up with him?_ He spoke with his eyes. 

Merle shrugged. _What the hell do I know?_ "Magnus, how long have you been up?" 

Magnus kept carving. "Since the moon was at the trees or somethin'. Maybe nine?" He chunked out a good-sized portion of wood in a smooth curve. "Its alright. You two need to go back to sleep."

"Elves dont need to sleep." Taako deadpanned.

Magnus purposely flicked a small bit of wood at the elf. "They can do it if they want to."

"And _I_ dont want to." Taako urged. " _I_ want _you_ to sleep. You've been awake all night."

"And why do you care now?!" Magnus snapped, looking in exasperation at Taako. Taako flinched, eyes wide at the sudden outburst. Magnus' face almost immediately fell. "Oh my- fuck... Taako, I'm so sorry. I... I didnt-! Fuck." He rubbed his forehead, dipping his face down. 

Taako watched Magnus quietly before reaching his hand out to rub the back of the human's neck. "Maggie," he said warmly. "I've noticed you're the only one that keeps watch. You never wake up Killian or me." 

Magnus raised his face out of his hands. "Shit. Really?" He laughed tiredly. "You too?" He looked at Merle.

Merle pat his arm. "I'm old, not blind." He smiled. 

"Magno," Taako met Magnus' eyes. "Are you scared?" He asked softly. 

"...of?"

Taako sighed. "Of losing them." he motioned to the other three sleeping behind them. Magnus followed his arm, holding his gaze on the other members of their squadron. "You're scared, arent you? Losing them..." Taako looked at Magnus. "Losing _us_?"

Magnus bit his tongue, eyes fluttering between the three before he sighed heavily and hung his head. "Yeah. I am." He was vaguely aware of the wood moving around in his hands, the knife moving. He had no idea what he was carving. "Im... _so_ scared." His voice shook, unfamiliar for the strong, sturdy fighter. 

Taako's face showed empathy and sadness. He inched a little closer. "Yeah?" He caught Merle's gaze for a second, the dwarf quickly looking at Magnus' face and squeezing his arm. 

Magnus clenched his hand around the knife, eyes squeezing shut. "I keep thinking about Refuge, and everytime we died- everytime you guys died. The earthquakes, and the burning, and the collapses- I couldnt do anything! I watch you all get hurt because I cant jump in front of you, I saw Angus get hit in the stomach by a gerblin and I thought I was gonna _die_ , I cut off Merle's fucking arm!" He dropped the wood and knife, grabbing his face. "I watch you guys almost die every twenty fucking minutes and I cant breathe everytime, it hurts so bad - it _hurts_." He sobbed, shoulders quivering. 

Taako splayed a hand over Magnus' chest, feeling his heart hammer. "Magnus, Magnus, my boy, hey!" He soothed. "Merle and I are okay! We can handle ourselves, you dont have to worry so much, big guy!" 

Merle was normally awkward when dealing with emotions, but the sight of his pal so shaken over him spurred him into action. "Yeah, big guy, we're alright! Promise!" 

Magnus wiped his face, feeling the wetness of tears and sweat touch his palms. "But you can't promise, you can't promise you'll be alright." He swallowed, fighting back a tiny sob. 

Merle hesitated. "...yer right, I'm sorry. I cant promise that. But you know that we always turn out okay, Maggie." 

Magnus just made a noise of disagreement. 

"Look at me," Taako said. He pushed his hands onto Magnus' face and lifted his head to meet Taako's gaze. His dainty fingers swiped away tears, his thumb gently stroking the man's eye-scar. "Magnus, you're an amazing protector. But, sometimes things are out of your control. You just gotta accept it, baby. You dont have to keep yourself awake like some sort of... of punishment, Magpie." Taako ran a hand through Magnus' hair with one hand, keeping the one stroking the scar held gently. "You're human, you need to sleep. Quit taking care of others so much, and let somebody else take care of you."

Magnus laughed wetly. "Taako, have I mentioned I love you?" 

Taako hummed. "Not recently, but I always get the feeling off of you." 

The three shared a chuckle. Magnus sighed heavily, feeling suddenly like the weight of the world was taken off of his shoulders. Actually, it felt like something small had slumped against him. 

"Sir, I can keep watch if you want." An incredibly bleary-eyed Angus murmured from where he leaned on Magnus' shoulder. The boy had woken up awhile ago and had just sat awake, listening. 

Magnus leaned and kissed the boys temple. "Ah, no Angus, I couldnt ask that of you. Did I wake you up?" He leaned a bit towards Merle. 

Angus slid down and flopped between Magnus and Taako, criss cross, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses. "Just a little bit, sirs. I'd gladly take w-" he yawned loudly. "Watch so you can sleep."

Magnus had to bite back tears once again. "Angus, you're eleven. You need as much sleep as you can get." He watched as Angus looked a little upset. "But I appreciate the offer! Really, I do." 

Angus blinked up at Magnus. "But... you should sleep. You dont do it enough..." he trailed off, head slumping as the urge to sleep took over.

Magnus placed a hand on Angus' shoulder, pulling the boy to lay in his lap. Taako quickly removed Angus' glasses before his head hit Magnus' thigh. "You gonna bully me too?" Magnus chuckled, a low, warm grumble. 

"No sir... I would never..." Angus was asleep again before he had the chance to rebut. 

Magnus chuckled again, running his hand through the boys hair. "Asleep as he should be."

Taako could have burnt holes in the side of Magnus' face, but yknow, with angry love. "As _you_ should be. Magnus, I'm not fucking kidding, I will cast Sleep on your ass." 

Magnus just held his gaze on Angus. He didnt say anything back. 

Taako grabbed Magnus' shoulder. "Mags-"

Merle held up his own hand. "Taako, you're gonna wake the boy." He motioned to the boy that was curled in a little ball. 

Taako bit his tongue, a frustrated groan quietly emerging in his throat. Merle decided it was his turn to take over. "Magnus," he murmured. "What do we have to tell you to get you to rest?"

_Promise you wont die. Promise you'll always be here. Promise you wont leave me. Promise me you wont die. Promise me you wont die. PROMISE ME YOU WONT DIE._

"Nothing." 

Merle held his breath for a moment before letting it go. Suddenly, Taako wrapped his arms tightly around Magnus, burying his face in Magnus' neck. 

Magnus tended up for a moment. "What are you-"

"I can read your thoughts, motherfucker." Taako said, muffled. The bracket on his wrist caught the moonlight for dramatic effect. Magnus felt his neck grow a little wet.

He relaxed, hugging Taako back, leaning his cheek against Taako's head. "Sorry." 

Merle didnt know what the exchange was, y'know, he didnt have the ring of fuckass or whatnot. Still, Merle tightly wrapped his arms around Magnus' middle. His arms were too short to reach all the way around, so he settled for gripping Magnus' red top tightly. 

Magnus held the two for as long as he could, Angus still soundly asleep in his lap. He didnt really know when it happened, but Carey and Killian appeared from behind, Carey snuggling into the opposite crook of Magnus' neck, Killian balancing her jaw on top of Magnus' head. 

In his moment of calm, Magnus realized: holy fuck. They _loved_ him. Him. Magnus Burnsides was _loved_. The people that were hugging him were giving strong hugs, strong arms that could protect themselves... sometimes.

Magnus let out a breath he didnt know he was holding, feeling the weight of everyone holding him move down with him. "Guys?" He asked quietly.

They all chorused their own versions of "yes?" or "what?", and hes pretty sure Taako said "yes, baby?"

"...I wanna go to bed now." He murmured. "... if you're okay without me." 

Taako pressed a haste kiss to Magnus' cheek. "Of course, Magpie. Of course." He looked at Merle. "Merle, you got the-?" 

Merle waved a hand. "I'm three feet off the ground but dont worry, I've gottem." He dislodged himself from Magnus and shuffled to scoop Angus up in his arms. "Yer lucky I forgot to take my arm off." 

Carey scurried off of Magnus' shoulder and held out her hand in preparation. "We've gotcha, big guy." She smiled. 

Magnus smiled tiredly at her. He felt like his bones weighed a million tons, grabbing Killian's arm instead of Carey's because he knew she could take it. His fingers bumped the ring he had made her and despite his tiredness, he giggled. "Made ya thaaaaat." 

Killian laughed. "Yes, you did. And I wear it every single day, buddy. And I'm gonna wear it tonight, when I take over the watch." She hefted him up. Taako pushed himself under Magnus' arm, slinging it over his shoulder. The two guided Magnus to where the sleeping area was set up, Merle still holding Angus up with great effort standing by where they were gonna set Magnus. 

Taako helped Magnus lay down, hands on his chest to keep him down. "You're gonna sleep the whole night, got it? I'll kick your ass if you try to get up."

Magnus chuckled. "As long as you're certain you dont need me."

Taako's face fell to softer smile. "I'll always need you," he said. Louder, he added, "Killian has it covered. Speaking of, Kills, please take Angus from Merle before he drops the kid."

Killian quickly took Angus from Merle, who groaned in relief, flopping on the ground and rolling into Magnus' side. "Glad we got the mushy shit out of the way, I am _exhausted_." After a moment, he added. "...love you Mags." under his breath. 

Magnus just wrapped an arm around him. He watched Killian lay Angus down next to Merle through halflidded eyes, vaguely aware of Killian and Carey going to sit where Magnus once sat, Carey's tiny blue body curling around Killian. 

Taako was still sitting up, face lightly illuminated by the the dying fire. "Taks?" Magnus asked, voice rough with exhaustion. 

Taako looked down immediately. "Yeah, Magpie?" 

Magnus shuffled his thoughts around in his brain for a bit before opening his other arm out. "Bedtime?" 

Taako's ears perked in surprise, mouth pursing into a little o. He quickly shook it off, smiling as he inched closer, maneuvering himself so he laid gently on Magnus' chest. He extended his arm to wrap around Magnus' waist, brushing Merle's arm as he did so. 

Magnus carded his fingers through Taako's hair, careful not to pull it out of the intricate braid. He could somehow feel Merle and Taako's heartbeats thrumming against his body. It was the most incredible feeling he had felt in years. And he'd been to fucking _space_. 

They were safe. Taako was safe. Merle was safe. Angus was safe. Killian was safe. Carey was safe.

Magnus was safe.

Magnus closed his eyes and slipped into the most peaceful sleep he had had in years, fingers still tangled in the elf's hair as the fire crackled out.

**Author's Note:**

> WOO THERE IT IS!! I hope yall like it, it's my first taz fic 👉👈 also YES I kin Magnus Burnsides YES I am a large, stupid, protector of my friends, NO I wont stop
> 
> please kudo and comment, i live off of ur validation 💞💞💞


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